Love Ain't Easy
by HorseLover200
Summary: It's been three years since Scout and Pony went to Darry's wedding, and Scout's starting to get impatient about her relationship with Pony - thinking that they haven't progressed at all in the nine years they've been together. Will Scout's persistence on change save her relationship with Pony...or will it just rip them apart? DISCLAIMER: OUTSIDERS BELONGS TO S.E. HINTON!
1. Beating a Dead Horse

**A/N: THEY'RE BACK! :) How many of you guys are newcomers and how many of you read It Happens That Way! :) No need to read IHTW if you don't want - though I think it's a great read :P - all you need to know is that PonyxScout(from TV show) happened! :P Anyways, share in the reviews how many are new and how many are here from IHTW! Also, ENJOY :P**

 **I've missed this couple SO MUCH in the last year! :) I can't believe how much I missed writing in Scout's POV. Of course, sorry if it is a bit iffy. I'm a bit rusty with these characters. BUT ENJOY AND REVIEW! :)**

* * *

 **Scout**

Three years ago, Darry married the love of his life. Two years ago, Darry had a baby boy named Hal. One week ago, Darry found out he was having another baby.

Three years ago, Pony and I had our seven year anniversary of dating. Two years ago, Pony and I had our eight year anniversary of dating. One week ago, Pony blew me off to hang out with Two-bit and Steve.

Now tell me how that's fair.

Darry and Frankie had the life that people dreamed of. Comfortable, happy, a family. They were so nice to each other all the time, and little Hal was so adorable and loved. Looking at their relationship, how could a girl _not_ want to advance in her own. Of course I didn't want to marry Pony right now, no! We were perfectly happy as a couple...but we had been in the same relationship for _eight_ years. We did the same things we always had. Pony still lived at home with his brother. I had moved in with another greaser girl after the mishap with my mother, and I was still there. And dammit if that wasn't the most irritating thing in my life!

Ponyboy was still working for Darry's old company, making a good deal of cash after working his way up in the business over the last eight years. Ponyboy was twenty three years old, and I was twenty two. Was it too much to ask that we move into a house together? I didn't even want a big house, either, just a little one bedroom that we could enjoy together. But Ponyboy seemed perfectly happy where he was, and hadn't even brought up the subject. I could have, sure, but wasn't the guy supposed to make big steps like that?

At the moment, I was sitting in Pony's lap on his couch, as we had a sort of double date with Darry and Frankie. Soda and Liz had been here as well, but left a few minutes before to go home - _where they lived together!_ Soda had only been dating Liz for four years and they lived together. Moving in together probably shouldn't be such a big deal and something to be angry about, but when you're in a relationship for almost nine years and haven't advanced in any significant way, the smallest things seem monumental.

"So, Scout, you going to stay over?" Darry asked me, glancing briefly at the baby monitor on the table. Hal had been put to bed a little over an hour ago.

"Um, no, I don't think so. I have to get up early for work in the morning." I replied, looking at the floor as I answered. I didn't have to get up for work until eleven thirty, but I didn't really want to stay the night with Pony. I had been thinking about mine and Pony's relationship a lot that day, and my irritation was just too much.

"You don't have to be at work until one," Pony said, and I cursed at myself for letting him read my schedule every time I got it. We just wanted to have some days to go out together. "What's going on?"

"It's nothing, Pony, I just want to go home, okay?" I snapped, standing up from his lap suddenly. "In fact, I should probably go now. Georgia doesn't like me to get home late, it always wakes her up."

"I'll walk you out," Pony mumbled, standing from the couch and following me out the front door. Once we had made it into the yard, he grabbed my arm and stopped me, looking confused. "Tell me the truth."

"Look, I don't want to talk about it, alright?"

"No, not alright!" Pony snapped. "The last few weeks you've seemed angry at me for something. I keep telling myself it's just stress from work, but I don't think that's true anymore."

"Like I said before, it's nothing!"

"Talk to me, Scout! We've been together for a long time, you can tell me anything." he insisted.

"You're exactly right, Pony! We _have_ been together for a long time, but it's kind of hard to remember that!" I suddenly shouted, jerking my arm free from his grip and taking a few steps back. He looked even more confused now, stepping back himself.

"Scout-"

"No, you want to know what my damn problem is...here I go." I interrupted. "We've been together for almost _nine_ years, and what have we done to prove that? We kiss and hold hands and sleep together. I feel like we're still teenagers Pony!"

"What-"

"You know how long Sodapop has been with Liz? Or how long Two-bit has been with Kathy?"

Ponyboy nodded and went to reply, but I interrupted him again.

"A hell of a lot less time than we have, and what do we have to prove that? _Nothing_!" I let out a long sigh. "Dammit, Soda lives with Liz and they've only been together four years!"

"Scout, we've talked about this. We're not ready for marriage-"

"I'm not talking about marriage, Pony! I'm talking about the fact that our relationship is stale. We do the same things we did as teenagers. I mean, Pony…" tears started forming in my eyes, and I wanted them to stop, but I couldn't make them. "Are we just beating a dead horse? Holding onto something out of obligation?"

As soon as I said it, I regretted it. The look on his face when I said those words made me want to just die right there. He looked absolutely broken. If I had known that such a simple statement would hurt him so much, I would never have even thought it. Before I could apologize, Pony turned his back to me and sighed. I knew he was hiding the tears.

"Be careful on your way home." he muttered, and then jogged back to the house.

I watched him go with tears falling down my cheeks. What had I just done?


	2. Next Big Step

**A/N: And Chapter 2 is already up! It's a bit longer than Chapter 1 - a whole page, actually - and it's in Pony's POV this time! :) Bare with me, because the first few chapters will probably be a little off, as I'm warming back up into Pony and Scout's characters. And, keep in mind, they are both older and more mature now, so their story-telling is definitely going to have improved, and their personalities will have changed a bit since It Happens That way. :) ANYWHO**

 **ENJOY and REVIEW! :P**

* * *

 **Ponyboy**

I avoided Scout for three days after she blew up at me on the yard. I didn't do it because I was angry with her, or too hurt to face her, but because I was embarrassed. She was right. For the last nine years we had been doing the same thing, and it just wasn't cutting it anymore. There was a reason I had opted to hang out with my friends instead of her the week before, there was a reason I worked late most nights and why some days we didn't even speak to one another. It was because we just weren't going anywhere. We were so comfortable with our relationship the way it was, that it was boring.

There was one thing Scout was wrong about, though, and that was the statement that we were just together out of obligation. That was wrong in every way possible. I loved Scout with everything, and I felt even more embarrassed that I had been showing her that very little lately. I'd thought a lot about moving in with Scout, but with no indication from her whether she wanted to do that or not, I hadn't ever spoken to her about it. However, I had been saving up half of each paycheck for the last two years saving up for my own place. Living with Darry and his family made me feel like an absolute burden, but still I was too scared to leave, so I just saved up and promised myself someday...

But with the way Scout had acted, I knew the time to go was now, I wasn't going to tell Scout this, though. I had thought about it long and hard for the three days I avoided her and came to the decision that I'd surprise her. It'd be a huge, romantic gesture of sorts, to show her that I really cared. The problem would be keeping her happy until I found the right place for the right price. I had saved up a little over seven thousand dollars, so I definitely didn't have nearly enough to buy a place yet, but I sure had enough money to put a down payment to start the rent-to-own process and then furnish it.

After finally figuring this out in my head and making all the plans I needed to make, I went to see Scout. She worked at the bookstore in town, with the old man that was always very nice to me when I walked in. I knew what time she worked, and so I went to the bookstore around that time. When I walked in, she had her back to the door and was shelving some books. I smiled a little, because she looked very content with just stuffing books onto a shelf. I guess I had rubbed off on her somehow, made her a book lover like me.

"Scout," I called hesitantly. She jumped at the sound of her name, and turned sharply. Her shoulders drooped when she saw it was me, not out of disappointment, but of relief and before I knew what was happening, she had run up to me and thrown her arms around my neck.

"I'm so sorry for what I said, Pony!" she cried into my shoulder. "Of course I don't think this relationship is just obligation. I love you so much."

I rubbed her back gently, smiling into her hair.

"Don't be sorry. I deserved that," I told her, pulling out of the embrace and looking her straight in the eye. "I'm sorry for not being a very good boyfriend."

"Oh, please, you've been a great boyfriend! Best I ever had," she teased, wiping her tears away. I laughed.

"I thought a lot about what you said, and I agree. We should discuss moving in with one another." I told her, making sure to emphasize the word 'discuss' so she had no way of figuring out what I was up to. "Why don't you come over in a couple of days and we can talk."

"Can I come over tonight?" she sniffed.

"Sorry, but I have to work tonight and tomorrow night, late too. We have a big job that needs to be done by Wednesday, so the team's trying to get it done quick." I lied. We had finished that job two days ago.

"Well, alright. I'll stop by in a couple of days." she agreed reluctantly. "Guess you have to go now?"

"Yeah, I do." I pulled her into another hug and then kissed her - a long, hopefully passionate kiss - before heading for the door.

"Love you, Pony!"

"Love you, Scout." I called back before the door closed behind me.

There was one more person I had to talk to before making any final decisions - Darry. When I got home after visiting Scout, Darry was home - as usual - feeding Hal his lunch. Frankie was at work today. The neat thing about Frankie and Darry's jobs was the fact that the schedules worked out so perfectly. One of them was usually home with Hal all the time. If they worked at the same time, I was home, or Sodapop came over. Since his accident, Darry's leg had healed, but he could never do physical labor like what he did before again. He was permanently hindered from that kind of work. Now, he was a desk man - in the same company - and called me and the others to assign us new jobs. It wasn't what he was used to, but he didn't seem to mind it.

"Hey, Pony, how'd it go?" Darry asked when I walked into the kitchen.

"Good, good. She's coming over in a couple days to talk."

"Good." Darry replied. "Come on, Hal, why don't you eat the hotdog, huh?" he sighed, pushing the plate towards the two-year-old. Hal just giggled and shook his head no.

"Don't want!" Hal squealed, slapping his hands onto the table playfully. I laughed lightly, sitting across from Darry.

"Hey, Dar, could I talk to you?"

"'Side? 'Side?" Hal chanted, pointing towards the back door and wiggling in his booster seat. Darry let out a defeated huff and stood up, taking Hal with him and heading for the back door.

"Yeah, alright," he said. "Come on outside with us, Pony."

I stood up and followed them out into the back yard. After Hal was old enough to play outside, we'd put a fence around the backyard, that way we could all relax on the porch and not have to worry about the little kid getting away from us. There was a slide and a battery-powered baby motorcycle as well, which Hal went straight to and started zooming his way around the yard while Darry and I sat down in the porch chairs.

"So, what's up?" Darry asked after a moment.

"Well," I hesitated, not sure how to put it. "I'm gonna ask Scout to move in with me."

Darry looked at me with raised eyebrows, shaking his head slowly as he thought of what to say. After a while, he finally responded.

"Listen, it's fine if she stays here a few nights, but moving in-?"

"No! Not here!" I corrected, waving my hand to dismiss his statement. "I'm going to get us our own house."

Once again, Darry was silent, but this time a smile had broken across his face. It was the good kind of silence, the silence that meant the person was speechless with joy. A good kind of silence. It took him a long time to say anything, and was interrupted from speaking when Hal called for us to watch him as he drove his bike into a tree repeatedly and laughed uncontrollably. After Darry had gone out to the yard and explained to his son that was pretty stupid to do - not his words - and not to do it anymore, he came back ready to speak.

"That's real great, Pony!" he grinned. "You found a place yet? Is that what you told her? How much is the house?"

"I found a place a couple blocks over, and no I didn't tell her. I want to get a place in the next couple of days before she comes over and get it all fixed up nice, so I can surprise her. I looked at the house today and really loved it, but I wanted you to look too, so you could tell me what you think. And, I kinda need help getting it fixed up nice." I explained.

"I'm glad to help, Pony, but you might want to get Two-bit and Soda to help you move things in and stuff." Darry told me.

"They already agreed to help, Steve too. They're actually meeting me at some furniture store tomorrow. Steve's gonna bring his old man's truck."

"Well, I'm glad to help." Darry grinned.

"Thanks, Dar. It's real good of you to say that, because I'm worried out of my mind."

"Don't be. You and Scout are meant for each other."

I grinned at him and leaned back in my chair, looking out and watching as Hal played in the backyard, amusing himself with every single thing he found. Watching as he played, I wondered if Scout and I would ever have a little boy who picked up bugs and giggled when they squirmed in his hand.


	3. Perfect

**A/N: I am gonna be popping out new chapters like a breeze for the next few days, just because I have such incredible muse for this story right now, just warning you! :) ENJOY and REVIEW PLEASE! :P**

* * *

 **Scout**

Just as Pony asked, I waited two days before going to visit him and talk about our future. Two days felt like two years, and the only thing I thought of the entire time was what he would say. He had agreed to move in with me, but under what circumstances and when? I knew it was stupid to worry that he'd have some big list of things I would have to do before he bothered moving in with me, but it was really hard to not worry. On the third day after Pony spoke with me, I went over to his house, ready for a serious talk. Instead, when I arrived, I found only Frankie and Hal sitting at home.

"Darry said you'd be comin' over, Scout," Frankie greeted through the screen door after I knocked. "He told me to tell you to go here," and with that, she gave me a slip of paper and disappeared into the kitchen where I could hear Hal hollering for her.

The address on the paper was familiar for some reason, but I didn't give it much thought. If Darry said to go there, it meant Pony was probably with him. What they could possibly have planned at an unknown address I had no idea. Instead of worrying about it, I just went along my way. It was better that I relieved all of my stress before arriving, just in case the talk got heated. Pony and I had a lot of fights before, and usually we got loud. Never hurt each other - but we got really loud. Hopefully this talk went smoothly and no one would yell.

When I arrived at the address on the paper, I was a little surprised to see Steve sitting in the back of his pick-up with Two-bit, Soda, Darry, and Ponyboy. The five of them were laughing and talking amongst each other, and didn't seem to notice me at first. So, I approached the truck and knocked on the tailgate before beginning to climb in. Before I could make it, however, Ponyboy told me to stop and he jumped out of the back of the truck.

"Let's go inside." he suggested, pointing to the house. He looked back at the others. "Thanks for the help, guys,"

"Anytime, Pon," Soda winked.

Ponyboy took my hand and led me slowly up to the house, and I got a good look on the outside as we made our way up to the front door. It was small, with two windows on the front of the house and what seemed to be another window on the side that I could see. The panels were painted light grey, to where they looked almost blue, and the front door was painted green. Kind of tacky, if you asked me. He paused for a moment at the front door and looked at me, and I raised my eyebrows in question.

"Who's house is this?" I asked.

"You'll see," he smiled, opening the front door and leading me inside. It was so much better on the inside.

The first room we entered was a living room. On the far wall there was a yellow couch that looked as though it was used, and it matched perfectly with the light colored paneled walls and the black coffee table that was set in front of it. On either side of the couch were the same colored chairs - both looking used as well. The next room was the dining room, with a very familiar looking table for four and all the very familiar chairs set around it. The kitchen was small and set right to the side of dining room, where the stove and fridge looked a bit beat up, but it was nice enough to me. As we moved further into the house and down the hallway to the bedrooms, I kept wondering who lived in this house, even though I had already figured it out but hadn't processed it yet.

There were only two bedrooms and one bathroom. The bigger bedroom had a nice queen-sized bed fully quilted, and the guest bedroom was unfurnished. The dresser in the master was used looking, but quite in tact, and the bathroom wasn't up to date exactly, but it was usable. Finally, Ponyboy pulled me all the way into the master bedroom and told me to close my eyes. Without hesitation, I did, covering my eyes with my hands.

"So, what's going on here?" I asked, but he didn't answer me. I heard him shuffling around, but kept my word to keep my eyes closed, excited for what surprise he had for me.

"Alright. Take a look," he said, and I felt one of his arms go around my waist as I opened my eyes. In front of me, the previously deserted dresser was now decorated by four pictures. All four of them were of Pony and I together, laughing, and they were in perfectly used picture frames. It was at that moment that it all clicked in my brain and I finally realized what I had known since walking into the house.

"Pony…" I whispered, looking over at him, trying to contain my tears. "Pony...Did you...Is this…?" I couldn't complete a full sentence, but he grinned, understanding what I was saying.

"Yes I did, and yes it is." he grinned, leading me over to the bed. "I thought a lot about you said. I'd been thinking about moving out on my own for years, and had even looked at this house when it first came out for sale. Well, when you said that thing about Soda and Liz, I realized what you were trying to say...and figured now was just the right time to finally move out on my own...well, of course, alone except for you."

I watched him as he spoke, and wanted to respond really badly, but I just couldn't get out any words. He had actually listened to me! He'd actually agreed! Why had I been so scared to say something to him? Of the almost nine years I'd been dating Pony, I could always tell him anything, and always he would be so supportive. The only other time I had ever hidden something from him was when we had our first kiss and I avoided him for days. That had ended in real disaster.

"You like it?" he asked, starting to look worried.

Without even thinking, I lurched forward and tackle-kissed him, not knowing how else to explain to him what it meant to me. He responded happily, kissing me back with enthusiasm and I knew he must have been relieved. Somehow, I ended up straddling him, but before it could go any further than kissing, the sound of the front door being opened and then Two-bit yelling through the house forced us to stop. I didn't have time to remove myself from Pony before our friend burst into the bedroom.

"Oops, interrupting something?" he chuckled.

"I thought you guys left," Ponyboy muttered, putting one hand over his eyes in annoyance.

"Want some alone time with the lady, I get it, but you sort of promised us some money," Two-bit said, grinning. I sighed and got off of Pony to sit on the bed beside of him. He took another moment to lay there before jumping up and following Two-bit out of the room, throwing me an exasperated look on his way out. I laughed lightly and stood up, looking around the room one more time.

Everything was absolutely perfect.

* * *

 **A/N: Don't let the last line fool you. With every big step in a relationship comes hard times. ;)**


	4. A Visit from the Devil

**A/N: Chapter four is here! I'm slowly warming up to the characters again, so hopefully the story becomes better quality from here on out!**

 **Please let me know what you think and leave a review. All thoughts are welcome! Whether it be positive or negative, I would appreciate any sort of feedback!**

 **ENJOY and REVIEW!**

* * *

 **Ponyboy**

The first two weeks of living together, Scout and I were perfectly happy. It took a few days to adjust and move all of our things in, but the waking up with one another every morning and going to bed with one another wasn't something we were new to. Scout had often stayed the night at my house when I lived with Darry, so waking up with my arms around her wasn't unfamiliar. However, the feeling when I woke up, knowing that when I walked into the kitchen for breakfast, Darry wouldn't be there with Hal. It was a nice feeling.

"Pony, you ever gonna get up?" Scout asked as she walked into the room. She looked like she had just gotten out of the shower and was in a nice looking shirt and jeans.

"You look nice." I commented, sliding out of bed and pulling jeans over my boxers. "What for?"

"Can't I just dress up?"

"You're Scout...of course not," I laughed.

"I guess that's true," she shrugged. "I'm going to see my mom today. Thought I'd show her what kind of woman I am without her screwing me up."

"I forgot about that." I frowned. The last time Scout had seen her mother was four years ago, and the man that had driven Scout to leave in the first place was still in her mother's life. Once Scout tried explaining again to her mother what a sleeze-ball the guy was, her mother had gotten angry and stormed off. Since then, Scout's avoided ever going to that side of town at all, not wanting to chance an encounter.

"Want me to come with you?"

"No, I'll be fine. You have to work!" Scout replied, smiling and putting her arms around my neck. "But thank you for offering."

"You know where to find me if anything happens," I told her seriously, hugging her around the waist and kissing her neck once before pulling back. "Guess I better get ready for work. Good luck with your mom."

"No luck needed. I'm going to make her apologize!" Scout winked, kissing me quickly and then sweeping out of the room. I heard the front door open and then close. With a sigh, I gathered a pair of jeans and an old t-shirt and went to get ready for work.

* * *

Later that day, after I had gotten off of work, I had planned on going straight home. However, when I stopped by Buck's to visit Soda - who still worked there, why give up a good job? - Two-bit was there and convinced me to go out with him. I knew that I should have stopped by the house and let Scout know (if she was home), but really, I didn't think it would hurt anything to just hang out with Two-bit for a while. We did the usual, and about halfway through the afternoon, Tim joined us and we all three went to the drive-in. I wasn't a big fan of Tim's, but I had a lot of respect for him. He was a decent enough guy...well, unless you went up against him or his family. He and I had a lot of problems after I had got into that fight with Curly a few years back, but we'd both gotten over it after a while.

"Hey, Curtis, take a look at those gals," Tim smirked, nudging me in the arm and pointing to a group of three women standing against a corvette. I glanced at them then back up at Tim with raised eyebrows.

"Do you remember who Scout is?" I asked him. "Short, black hair, my girlfriend. Ring any bells?"

"That still goin' on?" Tim nodded, stuffing his thumbs into his back pockets. I felt a sting in my gut at how much it reminded me of Dally. "Alright then, what about you, Matthews?"

"Now, now, Shepard! Kathy'd have my neck if I went flirtin' with some nice ladies." Two-bit replied with a wink, pulling out a pack of cigarettes.

Tim shook his head in disapproval. "That's why you don't let ladies hold you down. Can't ever have any fun."

"What about Cherry?" I asked. The last time I'd seen Tim, he'd been cruising around town with her in tow. The last time I'd actually spoken to Cherry or Tim, they had been dating - so I thought, anyways. I didn't know what Cherry saw in Tim, but she had always seemed to like the mysteriously bad ones.

"That broad?" Tim jerked one of Two-bit's cigarettes out of the pack and lit it with jerky motions, and I sensed that I may have made him a little mad. "She's gone. Lives somewhere South of here. She visited a couple weeks ago for her parents. Thought she could...could goody up to me and make me move out with her. What a joke."

"Tim-"

"I'm going to have some fun. See ya later, Mathews...Curtis." and with that, he walked off, throwing the barely smoked cigarette to the pavement and approaching the girls with a sly grin and a wave.

Two-bit and I walked around for a bit, but once it started getting later, I decided it was best if I went on home. Scout really liked to eat dinner together since we lived together now, so I knew if I wasn't home soon, she'd be pretty mad. So, the two of us parted ways and I went back home. As soon as I opened the front door, I knew something was wrong. There was nothing going on in the house.

There weren't any smells from the kitchen, no sound of Scout mumbling to herself as she shuffled through cabinets or cleaned up the house. Everything was just still. Feeling worried and scared, I closed the door slowly behind me and headed into the kitchen. In there, I found out what was wrong. Sitting at our table was Scout, her hands folded tightly on top of the table, and her eyes went to me when I walked in. Across from Scout was the woman that I had grown to really hate. It was Scout's mother.

"Hey." Scout said tightly, standing up and looking between me and her mom. "You remember my mom…"

"Mrs. Jenkins," I nodded to the woman curtly.

"Please, call me Mary-" she tried for a nice smile, but I shook my head, glaring at her.

"I only use people's first names when I respect them,"

"Ponyboy!" Scout snapped, grabbing my arm and dragging me out of the kitchen and into the hallway, where she looked at me sternly. "That's my mother!"

"Yeah, I noticed. Why is she in our house?"

"Well.." she shifted a little on her feet. "She realized what a jerk Brett is...and she had to leave...and when we met up today, I offered for her to stay in the guest room."

"Scout!" I shouted, putting a hand to my head. "You didn't even _think_ about talking to me first, huh? You just thought that I'd _love_ to have that woman - who yelled at you and accused you and made you miserable time and time again - just come in here with no discussion?"

"It's not that, it's just-"

"What, Scout? Please explain how you made such a huge decision without me!" I yelled. "We may not be married or something, but this isn't just _your_ house, Scout. You can't just go and make decisions like that."

"What's the big deal? We let the others stay whenever they want!" she yelled back at me, looking as though she were getting angry now.

"Yeah, want to know the difference?"

"Yeah, I do!"

"The others don't make a habit of hurting you!" I snapped at her, turning away from her and gritting my teeth. We both stood in silence for a few minutes before I finally just let out a grunt of frustration and went for the front door.

"Pony, where are you goin'?!" she called, stopping me at the door.

"Somewhere else." I said coldly, turning away and leaving quickly before she could reply.

Maybe I was overreacting a little bit, but I didn't really think so. That woman had tortured Scout for too long, chose a guy over Scout more than once, and then suddenly bursts in needing help? I wasn't going to have that. Scout had come to my window too many times because of that monster. If that was the case, why had I left then? I had just left Scout alone with that woman. I wasn't there to protect her from the hurt that her mother always seemed to make. But how was I supposed to go back now?

I just needed to cool off.


End file.
